India to consider end to Siachen stand-off: Indian PM

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Sunday that India will have to consider options to end the military stand-off with Pakistan in Siachen, the world's highest battlefield.

Asked earlier in the day how long the Indian troops could remain deployed on Siachen in Indian-administered Kashmir, Manmohan Singh said: "We have to think on this."

Manmohan Singh was speaking to reporters at the airport in Leh,a northern city in Kashmir, on his return from Siachen, where he interacted with troops and addressed them, according to the Indo-Asian News Service.

Manmohan Singh is the first Indian prime minister to visit Siachen.

Earlier, addressing the troops at Siachen, he said India wanted to make Siachen a region of peace "where there was no scope for hostilities." "There should be an atmosphere of peace so that this area becomes a symbol of total peace," the prime minister said.

Source: Xinhua